The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

A mega-anthology of (mostly) excerpts from novels and plays by the popular and critically acclaimed horror writer whose increasingly ambitious work keeps pushing against genre boundaries. “Private Legends,” Barker’s detailed introduction, offers interesting revelations about pivotal moments in his youth that influenced his development as writer, painter, and filmmaker; it also firmly distances the author from the realistic tradition and sturdily defends what he rather grandly calls “the fantastique.” The book is arranged in 13 sections representing favorite themes. “Doorways,” for example, presents entries into other worlds, in a florid (and lurid) passage from the play Paradise Street and a chilling snippet from the novel The Great and Secret Show (1990). Standouts include a riveting story, “The Forbidden,” which became the brilliant horror film Candyman; several evocative scenes from Barker’s underrated visionary novel Sacrament (1996); and memorable passages from two masterpieces: Cabal (1988) and The Damnation Game (1987). Barker’s best fiction should be read in its entirety; still, this generous collection offers seductive proof of the redoubtable imaginative power of one of our boldest inventors.

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